Surprise Surprise...Westpac hides details of fiasco

Article published: 4:00 AM Thursday May 28, 2009   

 

Westpac blocks move to release file on missing millions

The bank chasing the multimillion-dollar runaways has blocked moves for court papers to be made public for fears this would "frustrate" attempts to recover the missing money.

Leo Gao and Kara Hurring are being sought in connection with the "inappropriate operation" of a Westpac business account in which $3.8 million is still unaccounted for.

The $10 million was made available by "human error" after Gao applied for an overdraft of $100,000 for his BP station in Rotorua.

Westpac has taken legal action against Gao, his business partner Huan Di Zhang, their business Heights Service Ltd, Lei Gao (believed to be Leo Gao's mother) and Wynn International Marketing Ltd.

The Herald applied to the High Court at Auckland to view the file, but Westpac's lawyers, Simpson Grierson, successfully opposed the bid.
 

"If this information is released at this stage to enable further media reporting, it is likely that this release would frustrate Westpac's attempts to recover the funds and also frustrate the investigations by the police and banks in various jurisdictions," Simpson Grierson said in written submissions.

Tania Goatley, solicitor on behalf of APN Holdings Ltd, submitted that sub judice law was an adequate safeguard for any concern the police might have around the criminal investigation and prosecution.

Justice Helen Winkelmann ruled in favour of Westpac but has allowed the Herald to report the reasons for the bank's opposition.
 

The court has frozen four properties relating to the BP service station that Leo Gao owned with Zhang, because the bank alleges they owe it $3,782,000.

One of the world's most luxurious hotel and casino chains has also been named in the court papers. Wynn International Marketing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wynn Resorts Ltd, which owns casinos and hotels in Las Vegas and Macau, China.

The Herald on Sunday reported that Aroha Hurring, the sister of Leo Gao's girlfriend Kara Hurring, was in Hong Kong drinking beer and enjoying the hot climate.

Aroha Hurring has now returned to New Zealand and told police that her sister was in Hong Kong but that she did not know where Gao was. Police are continuing to work on the preparation of a mutual assistance request to the Chinese Government.

Source: NZ Herald - Jared Savage

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10574996 

It's Showtime

Article published: 9:59 AM Wednesday May 27, 2009 

Kiwi Runaway Millionaires Hit Casino Tables In Macau 

A couple from New Zealand that are on the run with NZ$10 million accidently deposited in their bank account have reportedly been traced to the gambling mecca of Macau.

Leo Gao, 29, and girlfriend Kara Yang, 30, have reportedly been traced to a resort in the Portugese Colony off China’s mainland. However the bank at the centre of the record overpayment, Westpac, are doing everything they can to recover the money.

 Kiwi Runaway Millionaires Hit Casino Tables In Macau

Westpac has confirmed the casino firm, Wynn Resorts Ltd, was named along with Gao, and his mother and business partner in a court case to try to reclaim its lost millions.

The couple, who are being called a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, have been popping up on Facebook to boast of their fortunes. Their Facebook fan base has sprawled around the web as the new champions of the underdog.

On the site "Run Leo Run", a comment read: "Great story. Wish it would have happened to me! Wish them all the best."  Another read: "Go Leo go! Don't look back and good luck."

It is not understood if the pair are trying to wash the cash through the casinos or just going on a once in a lifetime blowout. Either way they are likely to face criminal prosecution once they are finally caught.
 

Source: www.betastic.co.uk
http://www.betastic.co.uk/gambling_news-kiwi-runaway-millionaires-hit-casino-tables-in-macau.htm 

 

Rough justice

Article published: 4:00 AM Wednesday May 27, 2009 

Fugitives face seven years' jail

Fugitives Leo Gao and Kara Hurring could face charges carrying a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, an Auckland lawyer says.
Inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Harvey said on Monday that it was likely the pair would face charges relating to the access and use of a computer, rather than theft.

Rachael Reed, a Crown prosecutor at law firm Meredith Connell, told the Herald yesterday that fraud-related charges that might be used in the circumstances included dishonesty using a document, accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and obtaining or causing loss by deception.

All charges carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, which is the same as a conviction for theft.

Ms Reed said charges against Hurring could include money-laundering, which also carried a seven-year jail term, but that would depend on whether she had assisted or encouraged Gao.

Source: NZ Herald
By Beck Vass

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/beck-vass/news/article.cfm?a_id=337&objectid=10574759

Master Criminals!

Article published: 12:00 AM Wednesday May 27, 2009 

It's a golden grin from an unlikely international fugitive as Cara Yang nurses her daughter in a Facebook happy snap.

Cara and her partner Leo Gao haven't won Lotto, nor did they rob anyone.

But they are determined to spend an outrageous fortune thanks to a bungling Westpac bank. After Westpac mistakenly gave them a $10 million overdraft they withdrew $3 million and flew north for a slice of Hong Kong shopping heaven. On the run for three weeks, they just keep on running - and spending.

And they're now internet heroes, with many people getting behind them. With audacity to rival Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs, the couple has been bobbing up on Facebook to boast of their hoot with the loot. Their Facebook fan base has grown to three different sites dedicated to the internet's new champions of the underdog.

Cara Yang and her daughter Leena

On the site "Run Leo Run", Rachel Louise Haynie wrote: "Great story. Wish it would have happened to me! Wish them all the best." And there was this from Carlos Hamon: "Go Leo go! Don't look back and good luck."

But there was a blunt warning from Verna Angelique DeCook: "You will have to face reality eventually. The money will eventually get spent. then what?"

There's a sobering Australian legal precedent for the couple to ponder as they squander. The struggling service station owners were about to go bust. Now they're pumping Westpac for millions while becoming Facebook folk heroes.

These "have nots" suddenly "have" and, as their spree on the high life continues, powerless Kiwi cops can only beg for their return. Otherwise, the only thing New Zealand's finest could do was alert Interpol.

Leo, 29, and Cara, 30, are in no hurry to come home, ignoring the repeated police pleas. Last year a Sydney judge found in favour of Westpac and ordered North Coast real estate agent Victor Ollis to repay the bank after the accidental transfer of $11 million into his account. In similar circumstances, Westpac was intending to provide Mr Gao with a $100,000 overdraft. But a misplaced decimal point turned the approved amount into a whopping eight figure sum.

Ms Yang's mother, Sue Hurring, appealed for her "beautiful and honest" daughter to return home. "This was the crazy thing, she has never pinched a thing in her life - probably as a little girl, yes - but she is so honest, so honest," Ms Hurring said. Police have interviewed Ms Yang's sister Aroha Hurring who joined them. A technicality in the New Zealand law requires offenders to actually handle cash and a minor computer offence might be their only crime.

Westpac said "the customer" attempted to transfer amounts totalling around $NZ6.7 million, but the bank had managed to recover $NZ2.8 million.

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old Westpac bank employee is reportedly being counselled after becoming traumatised by his expensive error.

Source: The Daily Telegraph
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25545009-954,00.html

One dot to happiness

Article published: Sunday May 24, 2009 

Missing decimal point, now a family's missing with millions

A New Zealand couple who went on the run after a bank accidentally deposited $NZ10million ($7million) into their account have taken a large family entourage with them and are believed to be in Hong Kong.

Neighbours named the couple as Leo Gao and his girlfriend, Kara Young, who ran a BP service station in Rotorua that had just been put into receivership.

They are believed to have had two weeks' head start before the Westpac banking error was realised.

Mr Gao fled with $3.8 million with Ms Young, her daughter, Lena, 7, younger sister Arawa and Mr Gao's extended family, who lived with them in Rotorua.

New Zealand police have refused to confirm the names of the missing people but sent an officer to China and brought Interpol into the hunt. Ms Young's mother has blamed her daughter's boyfriend for taking the money. "I'd like to wring his blimmin' neck," Sue Hurring told New Zealand's TV3. "We've just come from the police station trying to sort out this stupid, stupid, bizarre situation," she said. "I just wasn't sure what to do about it. I think the more information that I can help with the police to get them home, is more important." 

The abandoned BP service station 

Ms Hurring said her daughter had tried to contact her. "She did ring me and I hung up on her because I knew what she'd done," Ms Hurring told TV3. But not everyone is urging the couple to return the money, with at least two Facebook group set up offering support. The groups, "Go Leo Gao - Go You Good Thing!" and "We Support Leo Gao and his 10Million Dollars - Run Leo Run", have about 75 members between them, but offer no clues to the group's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the bank teller who put the decimal point in the wrong place on Mr Gao's temporary $100,000 overdraft is reported to be extremely distressed. The bank has issued written warnings to the bank clerk and her supervisor, understood to work in Christchurch.

When Mr Gao realised the mistake, he transferred $6.7million, of which $2.9million has been recovered. Westpac hired a private investigator to pursue the missing $3.8million before informing police.

The bank is using charging orders and property law notices to salvage what it can from Mr Gao's assets.

A Westpac spokesman said yesterday the bank was doing all it could to recover the funds, including receivership action in relation to Mr Gao's petrol station.

As well, the bank has instigated legal action to issue charging orders and property law notices over personal assets. "The process is that if Property Law Act notices are unremedied then the bank can proceed to the sale of those assets," the spokesman said.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/missing-decimal-point-now-a-familys-missing-with-millions-20090523-biva.html 

Get Rich Quick

Article published: 10:51 AM Tuesday May 26, 2009

Accidental millionaire Leo Gao 'dreamt of getting rich quick' 

A New Zealand man who fled with his girlfriend after receiving millions of dollars in a banking error is described by friends as an unsuccessful businessman whose main aim was to get rich quick.

An international search is underway for Leo Gao, a Korean national, and his girlfriend Cara Young, a New Zealander, who disappeared two weeks ago after finding their bank account had mistakenly been credited with $NZ10 million ($8 million). It is understood the couple, who ran a failing service station in Rotorua, on North Island, had applied to Westpac Bank for a $NZ100,000 loan but were given 100 times that amount instead.

The young couple, who are in their mid-twenties, told friends they were going on holiday but instead withdrew at least $NZ3.8 million and left the country.

Their car was found abandoned at Auckland airport and the police believe they have fled to China. Interpol and NZ police are focussing their search on Beijing and on Hong Kong.

Ms Young's four-year-old daughter Lena and Mr Gao's mother and siblings who lived with him in a house near the service station, BP Barnetts, have also disappeared according to the couple's friends.

Chevi Lambert, owner of the neighbouring business Andy's Cellar told The Times that Mr Gao "dreamt of getting rich."

"He talked to me about his dreams and ventures," Ms Lambert said. "His one big dream was to make money. He bought a fish and chip shop next door to the garage and wanted to make it into a Chinese fish and chip shop. But he didn't do anything about it.

"It just sat there empty and after about six months he sold it for less than he bought it for.

"That was around the time when BP started going downhill. He lost motivation; the pressure of working those those long hours left him really stressed," she said.

"At the same time he and Cara were having a lot of problems," she added. "They split up about a month ago but they were trying to work things out."

Westpac, which has still not publicly identified the account holder, said today the customer in question (Mr Gao) had in place a temporary overdraft facility with a limit up to $NZ100,000.

"It sought to formalise that limit, at which stage an error occurred, the consequence of which was opening up that limit to $NZ10 million," said Westpac New Zealand media relations Manager Craig Dowling.

The customer then attempted to transfer amounts totalling around $NZ6.7 million, but the bank had managed to recover $2.8m, he said.

"Westpac is continuing to vigorously pursue the outstanding amount of $NZ3.8 million," he said, adding that the error was not made in the local Rotorua branch.

Before they disappeared, leaving only a note on their garage door saying the company had gone into receivership, the couple reportedly told friends they were planning a holiday.

Helaine Aim, who bought St Andrews fish and chip shop from Mr Gao, said she last saw her friends two weeks ago - around the time they realised they were accidental millionnaires.

"I would go and have coffee with them at their house. They told me they were planning a holiday," she said. "I did not see them for a couple of days. I thought it was a little strange but didn't think much about it because I thought they were busy preparing for the holiday."

Mrs Aim said the couple told her they had applied for a loan to refurbish the service station which they were then going to sell.

NZ TV3 reported that Mr Gao had left NZ still owing a Rotorua building company $NZ30,000, while other creditors also remained unpaid.

Ms Lambert said a private detective hired by Westpac told her he had proof Mr Gao had left NZ and that his records showed Ms Young had used her boyfriend's credit card in Auckland on May 6, a day after the money had been credited to the couple's account.

Ms Lambert said the detective, Mike Dingwall, had visited her shop with a photo of Ms Young, asking if staff recognised her.

"And our answer was, 'Yes, it's Leo's girlfriend.'"

Ms Young's mother, Suzanne Hurring, told TV3 she could not believe her daughter had stolen the money, describing her as "beautiful and honest."

"This was the crazy thing, she has never pinched a thing in her life. She is so honest," she said.

She would like to "wring (Mr Gao's) blimmin' neck," she added.

Records list Mr Gao, along with Huan Di Zhang, as the owners of BP Barnetts. It was placed in receivership this month.

Detective Senior Sergeant Harvey of Rotorua CIB who is leading the investigation would not discuss the case with The Times but told the Herald newspaper in New Zealand that police were working with family members of one of the couple.

Source: The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/accidental-millionaire-leo-gao-dreamt-of-getting-rich-quick/story-e6frg6so-1225716356782

Chinese Takeaway

Article published: Monday May 25, 2009

$8m pair still on move

A family member travelling with a couple given a $NZ10 million ($A8 million) overdraft in a banking blunder has returned to New Zealand, as police prepare to ask the Chinese Government for help.

Police confirmed a relative who was travelling with the pair returned to Auckland airport yesterday. However, Leo Gao, 29, and Kara Mary Jo Hurring , 30, remain at large.

At a press conference in Rotorua, Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey said Auckland police had interviewed the family member, believed to be Aroha Hurring, of Blenheim. It was believed a family member had arranged her return airfare. "She's obviously been in contact by her family and decided to come back to New Zealand," Senior Sergeant Harvey said. He urged the couple, believed to be in China, to follow her lead and return to New Zealand.

Police were also preparing a "formal assistance" request to the Chinese Government, he said.

Source: The Age
http://www.watoday.com.au/world/8m-pair-still-on-move-20090525-bkqq.html